bike culture blogged

I bought my first new car a few months back. The biggest issue of course was how I would be schlepping bikes in/on it. Byron tipped me to a brand carried by our friends down at Seattle Bike Supply. The Saris CycleOn turned out to be a sweet setup.

I knew I wanted a 2” receiver hitch, and I know how nice it is to not have to mess with the front wheel. The Saris does a good job of securely holding the bike on the frame, without issues like clamping my carbon frame. They sell an extra extender to let you go to 3 or 4 bike configurations. If you do go to 4 bikes - make sure you have a Type 2 or better hitch. It’s solid, and therefore not all that light. Add 4 bikes on there and you are easily over the 300lb tongue weight.

So here’s the good and the bad:

Good:
- Solid hold without clamping to the bike
- Easy on-off
- Folds up when not in use
- Easy to pull on and off the car if you have any muscles
- Skip the Pro model and just buy a stainless hitch lock at an auto parts store

Bad:
- They don’t lock the bike on (not that many roof locks do much), so get cables instead
- It’s HEAVY, so if you don’t have any muscles, it could be a bit of work
- A bit pricy after you have to install a hitch and the rack

Overall, I’d buy this setup again in a heartbeat. Try pricing any rack system these days - they aren’t cheap. In my mind, I’m happy to pay for a quality rack since it’s carrying some pretty precious cargo.

Where do you get them? Some shops carry them, but if your shop can do an SBS order, they can get them for you from there. I’ve got 3 friends with them already.

Yeah - a little awkward with something that long. The 2 bike setup is not noticeable, but the 4 is a little long. Then again, I rarely use the 4 bike if I’m not heading to a race where 99% of the drive is highway.

It folds up when the bikes are not used, but doesn’t pivot anywhere with the bikes in place. I am able to open the rear hatch if the bike closest to the car is removed, but that’s probably different on every car. I have a dog, so the bigger issue is getting him in and out with the bikes in place as well - we have to drop a seat and let him out the side.

Like the inevitable eventuality of *garaging your bike*, I predict a “backing into.” I’d always put my current fav bike closest to the car and place the “sacrificial one” on the outside. Ya know them carbon bikes don’t survive impacts that well . . .